Are you intentionally being obtuse or do you really not get it? Background and deep knowledge is great if you are an enthusiast and just seeking knowledge. Nowhere did I say you had to "justify" reading anything. Knowledge is wonderful... I am talking about utility. Outside of the inherent benefits of expanding your mind, it doesn't do a whole lot for you if you don't partake in any of those activities to know that level of detail does it?

We are venturing way off topic here but....
If that is the case then why do anything except eat, sleep, shower, and procreate? Why read a magazine/look at art/do anything abstract that does not serve a specific, practical purpose? Being informed or well read or however you describe it can have unintentional benefits. Do you suppose that it was a skier that discovered/invented the thiosulfate used in hand warmers? The polymers used in modern skis, or a dozen other examples? Maybe you don't really mean to say that knowledge isn't useful, but that is what your argument is stating.

Quote:

Sure they may learn something.. but what purpose does it serve the kid from jersey heading to Breck to know about the latest in beacon and airbag tech? What do they do with info on the plight of maggots looking to park in the Kirkwood lot overnight?

He might learn that an airbag won't save his life if an avalanche drags him through trees and that Recco is a piss-poor alternative to having a beacon, pole, shovel, rope, and knowing how to use them. Or that if he ever does go into the BC that a basic avy course would be a better idea than blindly following some random bozo who might or might not know what they are doing.

Quote:

Where on earth did I say that or anything specifically about you and what you should or shouldn't read. I am disputing the utility of that "rich" content to the snowboarder of the masses that frequents this forum. I'm sure the tips area here has helped countless riders advance. TGR offers nothing of the sort.

Well, according to some folks on the forum I still haven't logged in enough time on the snow to tell an alpine board from a mono-ski. Are you suggesting that there isn't anything I could read on TGR that might help me make it down Beartooth at JHMR without having to check my speed with a side slip every couple of yards?

Quote:

I'll tell you what has become clear ... you are the kind that thinks experience does not matter when you can read about it on a forum. I would point to your post in a thread about avalanche mitigation. You have zero perspective on the matter yet think because you are a learned sort (and avid TGR reader) you offer something of value. All your post really showed was a lack of perspective given mitigation (albeit not with bombs) does take place all the time with cornice drops and ski cuts. Its not an area I have much experience in so I am treading towards your schtick even commenting on the subject.

You should read what I have written a little more closely, because you have plain misunderstood me. Nowhere did I say that experience isn't valuable (if I did, point it out to me and I'll amend the statement).

Quote:

You can read about things all you want, but its when you apply that knowledge through experience that you truly learn.

It depends on the context. You can't learn to ride a motorcycle or ride a snowboard from reading about it on a forum, but you can certainly learn how to build/repair electronics and machines or how to field dress a wound (how is that for a random example?) well enough with only a book in front of you.

__________________
Read on another forum: "If someone held a gun to my head and said, "You have to move to Salida tomorrow", I'd probably do it. If they told me I had to go to Breckenridge instead, I think I'd just let them pull the trigger."